


The Stairs Creak As You Sleep, It's Keeping Me Awake

by AXEe



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-09
Updated: 2018-11-09
Packaged: 2019-08-21 07:21:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16572167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AXEe/pseuds/AXEe
Summary: Post "Arachnids in the UK", no real spoilers.   Enjoy :=)





	The Stairs Creak As You Sleep, It's Keeping Me Awake

**Author's Note:**

> Post "Arachnids in the UK", no real spoilers. Enjoy :=)

******

_The Doctor scurried back from the spider as it charged down the hallway towards her, mandibles clacking audibly_

_“Keep going!” she yelled as she hurriedly climbed to her feet “run! Run!” she ordered as the spider suddenly leapt through the air at her…_

Rose jerked awake. Panting for breath, she glanced at the clock on the nightstand, sighing as she saw how late it was. Flopping back in resignation she punched her pillow into submission. The dreams had been happening practically from the moment she’d been trapped in Pete’s World, meeting Donna and Martha during the time the Earth had been stolen only proved that they were real.

Since then she’d been dreaming nonstop about The Doctor and his—her now—adventures. She’d seen him change faces, encountered his companions—Amy, Rory, River, and Clara—and saw all he’d been through: Missy, the confession dial, the return of the Time Lords, and now, The Doctor’s newest face and her new adventures with her new companions.

Having finished punching her pillow into submission, Rose flopped back against it and sighed, curling into a ball under the covers.

It wouldn’t be so bad if her husband was still around. But he had died a century ago…

******

The Doctor leaned out of the TARDIS, cautiously examining her surroundings. They’d landed inside someone’s living room it seemed. A house, not an apartment. It was night and judging by the furnishings, it was somewhere in the late-20th century to the early- to mid-21st century.

Slowly stepping out of the TARDIS, The Doctor looked around trying to find out just where she was, freezing as she caught sight of a framed picture on a shelf. It couldn’t be…

“Doc?” Graham called out in a whisper as he peered out of the TARDIS

She turned

“Stay inside the TARDIS,” she instructed “I’m just going to take a look around. Won’t be long”

Frowning suspiciously Graham nodded and quietly slipped back inside.

Now alone, The Doctor took a shaky breath as she reexamined the photograph, Rose looked beautiful in her wedding dress as she stood beside the metacrisis, both beaming widely for the camera.

Putting the photo down, she examined the others crowding the shelf, photos that showed the progression of time, the metacrisis and the rest of the Tyler family growing older and older, but Rose remaining as young as she had looked when The Doctor had last seen her, until the photos suddenly stopped with a photo of an aged metacrisis laying in a hospital bed, a still-youthful Rose by his side, after that there were no more photos.

Glancing over, The Doctor spotted the staircase leading up to a second story. Pulling out her sonic she scanned the rest of the house and found one other lifeform in the house besides herself and the rest of Team TARDIS.

Giving into temptation, The Doctor slowly climbed the stairs, the hardwood floors creaking underfoot as she slowly rounded the corner, coming across an open door, freezing and flattening herself against the wall as a light down the hall flickered on, a shadow moving across the floor before a faucet squeaked. There was a splash and muffled groan followed by a mild cough, like someone clearing their throat, before the faucet squeaked again and the shadow moved back across the floor, the light flicking off again.

Letting out a slow exhale, The Doctor carefully pushed off the wall and, weighing her opinions, slowly made her way down the hall towards the room where the light had come from.

Slowly pushing the half-open door, she peered around the edge, swallowing as she saw a familiar head of blonde hair.

Rose was sitting on the edge of the bed, facing away from her, the moonlight streaming through the window cast her in her an almost ethereal light. Her hair was longer than The Doctor remembered, flowing halfway down her back, and she’d also stopped bleaching it, revealing its natural darker color.

She should go, The Doctor thought, she’d seen Rose, but she found she couldn’t make her feet move, couldn’t make any part of her body move in fact, just stood there, rooted to the spot, unable to take her eyes off Rose, wanting to stay in that doorway forever just drinking in the sight of her.

“Going to just stand there all day?” Rose suddenly asked, her voice soft, almost sad.

Taking a slow step forward, the floorboards creaking and groaning beneath her feet, The Doctor slowly entered the room, coming around to gingerly sit down on the bed besides Rose.

Opening her mouth to speak, The Doctor found herself unable to say anything. Glancing down at Rose’s hand on the bedsheets, she reached out with her own trembling hand and placed hers atop Rose’s, relieved beyond measure when Rose gently curled her fingers around hers.

“I dreamed of you,” Rose breathed “everything, every person you traveled with, every threat you faced, all of it,”

Slowly, she looked up at The Doctor, her expression bittersweet

“Take me with you,” she breathed “ _please_ ” she pleaded

Swallowing, The Doctor found any excuse as to why she shouldn’t do that dying in her throat as she reached out and wiped the tears forming at the corners of Rose’s eyes away, and instead she found herself nodding shakily

“ _OK,_ ” she whispered as she leaned in and tentatively placed a kiss against Rose’s lips.

Pulling away, she stood up and gently pulled Rose to her feet, absently noticing that Rose was dressed in only a ratty t-shirt and shorts and socks

“You, uh, you should probably get changed” she stammered, earning a small smile from Rose

“Yeah,” she agreed “probably”

“I’ll wait,” The Doctor assured her she reluctantly dropped Rose’s hand “have to tell the rest of the gang about you anyway”

Rose flashed her that familiar grin as she rooted through her drawers for a change of clothes

“Don’t be long” she teased

“Likewise” The Doctor grinned as she reluctantly slipped out of the room and back down the stairs to the TARDIS where she found the others nervously standing outside the blue box

“What’s going on?” Yaz asked

The Doctor glanced back up the stairs, feeling her hearts skip a beat as Rose slowly came down, dressed in a hoodie, jeans and sneakers, a heavy-looking backpack slung over one shoulder.

Smiling, The Doctor reached out and took Rose’s hand as she answered Yaz’s question

“Bringing back an old friend,” she explained as she turned to them “everyone, this is Rose. Rose, this is everyone—”

“Graham, Ryan, and Yaz” Rose nodded with a shy smile

“How did she…?” Graham began

“Long story,” The Doctor dismissed “I’ll explain later. For now let’s just say that Rose used to travel with me and she’s coming back” she explained

The others glanced between each other

“OK” Ryan finally said

“Yeah, sure, why not” Graham shrugged

“More the merrier” Yaz added, giving Rose a suspicious look as the TARDIS doors opened of their own accord, Rose and The Doctor stepping through, the others hesitantly following.

Now standing by the console, The Doctor turned to Rose, grinning shyly

“Care to do the honors?” she offered

Grinning back, Rose placed her hand on the lever and pulled it down, the TARDIS taking off…

******

“You love her”

The Doctor looked up to find Graham standing in the doorway to the library. Frowning, she weighed her options

“Who says?” she challenged

“You did,” Graham shrugged “not in so many words, but…” he trailed off, nodding to where Rose now lay with her head pillowed in The Doctor’s lap, one of the Time Lord’s hands absently brushing through long blonde hair.

The Doctor nodded

“I do,” she confirmed softly “more than you can know”

Graham nodded

“Does she know?” he wondered

“We never talked about it,” she explained “but…she knows” she nodded.

Seemingly satisfied with that answer, Graham nodded

“Wonderful, isn’t it?” he chuckled

“Yeah” she agreed.

Taking that as his cue to leave, Graham quietly left with a polite nod. Now alone with Rose, The Doctor pulled her closer, recalling her own words to Graham and the others

_‘You won’t be the same people you are now’_

And that was true; Rose had changed most of all, but perhaps it had been for the better, because as selfish as it sounded, she could have Rose by her side forever now, no longer limited by Rose’s fragile human lifespan.

“Everything OK?” Rose asked softly, looking up

Smiling, The Doctor held her closer, pulling her up to tuck her against her chest, resting her chin against the top of Rose’s head, amazed at how easily they’d slipped back into their old routine even after only a few hours back together

“It is now,” she answered, pressing a gentle kiss to Rose’s temple “is everything OK with you?” she wondered

Rose nodded

“It is now” she replied

“Rose…,” The Doctor began hesitantly “you haven’t aged, have you?”

“No” Rose answered

“So…how old are you now?” The Doctor wondered

Rose sighed

“Five hundred years,” she answered “give or take,” she looked up at The Doctor “is that OK?” she asked hesitantly

The Doctor smiled

“More than OK” she answered, pulling Rose even closer “more than OK”

Things were different now, everything had changed, she most of all, but with Rose and Team TARDIS by her side, she could take on anything…

**END**

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from "Little Talks" by Of Monsters and Men. Let me know what you thought :=)


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